Improvement in boilee-feedees



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Letters Patent No. 81,679,7date0l September 1, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN vBOILEIlrPE'I'.DERS.

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TO ALL IVI-IOM IT MAY CONCERN: Y

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CRELLIN'PIcxnnsGrnL, of the city and county of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Boiler-Feeders; and I do' hereby declaro that *the following specification,V taken in connection with the drawings making a. part of the same, is a full, clear, and exact descriptionl thereof.

Figure 1 is a view of my improved'feeder in elevation.

Figure 2 is a side -view ofthe same. Figure 3 shows another form of construction. The'object of my inventionl is to produce a-vessel which, by means of a. steam-cylinder and certain mechanism, shall receive from the tank and furnish to the boiler a'steady, regular, and suiilcient supply of water.

I am aware that many inventions have, of late, been made in automatic boiler-feeders, which, in many` respects, resemble the one I am now about to describe, yet none, however, have employed a.A steam-cylinder, which I deem indispensably necessary to the successful operation of this class of inventions, the use of which,- for such purpose, is more particularly the subject ot this patent.

In the drawings-4 A, iig. 1, is a water and steam-chamber, into which the water lows from the supply-tank, through the supply-pipe N, in which is placed u. valve, J, Aopening inwards.

' B is a float, of wood or hollow metal, which moves up and down upon the rod C, between the-collars e andf. The rod C is connected with the lever DuponA the top of the vessel, which is, in turn, connected by the valve-rod E to the steam-valve F and steam-cylinder G, the piston-rod oi' which is connected by means of levers, and operates the cocks H and I alternately, connecting't'he vessel A with supply-tankand boiler at water-level; the levers and rod being shown by blue lines, iig. 1. i

The vessel A occupying a. lposition higher than the water-level of the boiler, and lower than the Ysupplytank, the operation of the -feeder is as follows:

Commencing with the lvessel A, filled with steam', and connected with the boiler by the pipe L, the cook H being open, and the float B resting upon the collarf, having, by its weight, just pressed down the rod C, which has in turn carried down the lever D, and admitted the steam, by means of the valve F, into the cylinder'G.

lAs soonas the steam enters' lthe `cylinder G, the piston being connected with the levers a and b, moves them suddenly towards -the left, until 'they assume an angle'corresponding te that reprcsentedby the blue lines, thus instantly closing the cock H, and opening the cock I. v

VThe vessel A is now connected with the supply-tank only, and being full of steam, the cold water coming in through the pipe M condenses the steam, 'and a vacuum is formed. The pressure from the supply-tank now opens the valveJ, and allows the water to-ilow into the vessel A, which raises the float B until it reaches the collar E, when it moves upwards the rodO, and also the lever D. The steam is again admitted to the cylinder Gr, and the levers a and I; are moved back, and occupy the position shown in tig. l, and the vessel A is new connected with the boiler only, the vacuum is destroyed, and the water, by its own gravity, opens the valve K,

. and flows into the boiler. The oat B descends until itreaches the collarf, when the saule operation is repeated.

l I have thus described the' operation of the entire machine, in order that I might more. clearly show the improvements hereinafter claimed. Y Y t Y In other inventions of this class, where a steam-cylinder has not been employed, the oat has usually been attached to the rod passing through the chamber A., and moves the rod up and down as the water rises and falls, so that the friction of the rod inthe stuiIing-boxes at each end of the vessel A is constant.

Again, the rod passing through the vessel A being connected (in many other inventions of this class) directly with the levers which move the cocks, the alternate` connection of the vessel A with the boiler and supply-tank vwill be gradual, as'the'water rises and falls, and not nstantaneous,`as in feeders, where the loat operates a steamvalve `and cylinder.

It will now be readily seen thatat certain periods the automatic operation of the feeder must be suspended; for instance, as the float moves doi'vmvard, the cool: which connects the vessel A with the boiler closes grmlunlly, and must become entirely closed before tbc cock connecting it with the snpplytank opens, otherwise the steam would blow through and the machine stop. As soon as the cock connecting with the boiler is closed, the gravity of the water is overcome, and the float arrested inits downward progress Before it has descended far enough to open the cock connecting with the supply-talnk, and the machine must, in this case, stop In my invention these (iiiiculties are overcome by the use of a steam-cylinder, as will be seen from tbc foregoing description, the Hoet merely, operating a. steam-volvio. l

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-u The combina-tion of the Hoot B, rod C,le\`ver D, with the steam-valve F, steam-cylinder G, :md cooks H :ind I, substantially as and for the pnrposcssot forth.

WILLIAM CRELLIN PICKERSGILL.

Witnesses:

W. B. V1NCENT,` R. J. ANGELI.. 

